Marion County seeks lead contractor role at Silver Springs

Published: Friday, March 29, 2013 at 9:49 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 29, 2013 at 9:49 a.m.

Marion County officials are seeking to be the lead contractor at Silver Springs, wanting to position the county as the go-between for state park managers and the private businesses that will offer services at the attraction once it is rolled into Florida's park network.

Commissioner Stan McClain, the County Commission's point man on the issue, said the board still has some issues to hammer out before bidding to handle part or all of the package the state has up for auction.

If successful, though, the county would then become the conduit for introducing the new vendors at the 242-acre facility.

To understand why county officials and a contingent of business owners from near and far eagerly believe they can mine greenbacks from the blue waters of Silver Springs, one only need look at the fiscal performance of the state park system.

By and large, Florida's award-winning park system runs in the red, according to a state report from last fiscal year.

In 2012, only one of every five state parks actually churned out more revenue than it chewed up in taxpayer dollars.

Two of those parks operating in the black, however, were in Marion County, cashing in on the popularity and wonder of two of the biggest freshwater springs in the world.

Both the Silver River State Park east of Ocala, established around the river that snakes eastward from Silver Springs, and Rainbow Springs near Dunnellon were among the state's brightest fiscal performers.

The report by the Department of Environmental Protection notes that Silver River park in 2012 generated $677,032 in revenue, compared to $579,322 in expenses.

Rainbow Springs pulled in $844,797 last year, relative to its $784,311 in costs to the state.

Overall, just 33 of the 149 facilities included in the report made more than they cost to operate.

Those money-makers dotted the state, from Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Key West to Amelia Island near Jacksonville to St. Andrews State Park in Panama City.

They also included inland outposts like Ocala, Dunnellon and Fort White, home to Ichetucknee Springs State Park, northwest of Gainesville.

No matter where they were, though, the common denominator among the state's prime magnets for visitor spending was water.

All 33 of the main revenue generators were affixed to a body of water; most of them fronted the oceans.

Yet proximity to water did not guarantee success.

Weeki Wachee Springs State park, for example, is one of the most renowned tourist sites in Florida.

The home of the famous mermaids, however, was in the hole by about $70,000 in 2012, and was the only state park to post more than $1 million in revenues and not earn more than its operational costs.

And often parks in close proximity have very different results.

While Weeki Wachee's expenses slightly outpaced its revenues, Honeymoon Island, about 42 miles south, brought in almost $2.3 million, which more than doubled its costs.

Rod Lewis, director of the Haas Center, an economic research center at the University of West Florida, said it was difficult to pinpoint why some state parks are self-supporting and other aren't.

The state's famous snow-white beaches, ease of access of some sites, distance to major population centers and varying amenities might explain some of the differences, Lewis said.

Ultimately, he noted, "state parks are very different from businesses, but the factors (that feed success) are not that different from what you see in the business community."

On the whole, state parks managers are touting the economic success of their facilities.

In a separate report, the DEP points out that across the entire system park visitors spent almost $1.2 billion in the communities around the sites.

That's based on a formula used by the National Park Service.

Last year was the first time that figure has topped $1 billion, officials have said.

The report further notes that on average those communities reaped a direct economic benefit of $47 for each of the 25 million people who visited a state park last year.

And the bulk of that cash is new money cycling through the community.

According to the report, which cited a 2006 study, 74 percent of visitors to state parks in Florida traveled more than 50 miles to get there.

Moreover, 20 jobs are created for each $1 million that gets spent in the community surrounding around a state park, the report states. That jobs total includes full-time as well as seasonal and part-time workers.

The Silver River State Park, for instance, helped employ about 226 people around the Silver Springs community, based on the $11.3 million spent by the 246,000 people who went through the gate in 2012. Over in Dunnellon, 229 people found work because of the 245,000 visitors to Rainbow Springs, who shelled out $11.4 million.

That kind of uptick in an economically stalled Silver Springs is what county officials are hoping for once Palace Entertainment, the California-based theme park operator that has run the park since 2002, exits on Sept. 30.

By then, the DEP expects to have a new cadre of vendors in place for visitors' services.

At the beginning of March, state parks managers conducted meetings with potential contractors who would take over the music concerts at Twin Oaks Mansion; the Wild Waters water park; sales of food and beverages, merchandise, equipment rentals and the operation of the glass-bottomed boats; and special events such as weddings, receptions, conferences, family reunions, consumer shows and other events.

The state recently pushed back the date for accepting bids by two weeks, to April 22.

As it stands, Marion County intends to be in the hunt.

Commissioner McClain said the county's view is not all that different when the idea of Palace's departure was discussed two years ago.

That effort foundered when McClain, the board's most vocal advocate for greater local management of Silver Springs, could not convince a majority to join him in supporting the plan.

Those commissioners who opposed the deal, which might have put the county on the hook for about $6 million in improvements at the facility, held out for letting the state convert it to a park.

McClain said under the state's traditional way of handling the bids, the county would have to commit a certain amount for capital improvements and pledge part of the future revenues.

Yet the DEP has toned down the need for the capital investment, McClain noted.

That's most likely because Palace has agreed to spend $4 million on improvements in buying out the remainder of its lease.

"We wouldn't create a department to run it and turn it over to parks," McClain explained. "We'd be a buffer between DEP and the private sector guys to facilitate the needs of the private sector."

That way, if the county becomes the main concessionaire, the County Commission would then be responsible for subcontracting the services — which is permissible according to the DEP's bid packets.

In that role, the county would also deal with any regulatory issues, McClain said.

The problem at this juncture, however, is that the county would face a large liability responsibility, he added. Thus, talks with the DEP will continue.

"No matter what happens, things are going to be productive for Marion County," McClain said.

<p>Marion County officials are seeking to be the lead contractor at Silver Springs, wanting to position the county as the go-between for state park managers and the private businesses that will offer services at the attraction once it is rolled into Florida's park network.</p><p>Commissioner Stan McClain, the County Commission's point man on the issue, said the board still has some issues to hammer out before bidding to handle part or all of the package the state has up for auction.</p><p>If successful, though, the county would then become the conduit for introducing the new vendors at the 242-acre facility.</p><p>To understand why county officials and a contingent of business owners from near and far eagerly believe they can mine greenbacks from the blue waters of Silver Springs, one only need look at the fiscal performance of the state park system.</p><p>By and large, Florida's award-winning park system runs in the red, according to a state report from last fiscal year.</p><p>In 2012, only one of every five state parks actually churned out more revenue than it chewed up in taxpayer dollars.</p><p>Two of those parks operating in the black, however, were in Marion County, cashing in on the popularity and wonder of two of the biggest freshwater springs in the world.</p><p>Both the Silver River State Park east of Ocala, established around the river that snakes eastward from Silver Springs, and Rainbow Springs near Dunnellon were among the state's brightest fiscal performers.</p><p>The report by the Department of Environmental Protection notes that Silver River park in 2012 generated $677,032 in revenue, compared to $579,322 in expenses.</p><p>Rainbow Springs pulled in $844,797 last year, relative to its $784,311 in costs to the state.</p><p>Overall, just 33 of the 149 facilities included in the report made more than they cost to operate.</p><p>Those money-makers dotted the state, from Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Key West to Amelia Island near Jacksonville to St. Andrews State Park in Panama City.</p><p>They also included inland outposts like Ocala, Dunnellon and Fort White, home to Ichetucknee Springs State Park, northwest of Gainesville.</p><p>No matter where they were, though, the common denominator among the state's prime magnets for visitor spending was water.</p><p>All 33 of the main revenue generators were affixed to a body of water; most of them fronted the oceans.</p><p>Yet proximity to water did not guarantee success.</p><p>Weeki Wachee Springs State park, for example, is one of the most renowned tourist sites in Florida.</p><p>The home of the famous mermaids, however, was in the hole by about $70,000 in 2012, and was the only state park to post more than $1 million in revenues and not earn more than its operational costs.</p><p>And often parks in close proximity have very different results.</p><p>While Weeki Wachee's expenses slightly outpaced its revenues, Honeymoon Island, about 42 miles south, brought in almost $2.3 million, which more than doubled its costs.</p><p>Rod Lewis, director of the Haas Center, an economic research center at the University of West Florida, said it was difficult to pinpoint why some state parks are self-supporting and other aren't.</p><p>The state's famous snow-white beaches, ease of access of some sites, distance to major population centers and varying amenities might explain some of the differences, Lewis said.</p><p>Ultimately, he noted, "state parks are very different from businesses, but the factors (that feed success) are not that different from what you see in the business community."</p><p>On the whole, state parks managers are touting the economic success of their facilities.</p><p>In a separate report, the DEP points out that across the entire system park visitors spent almost $1.2 billion in the communities around the sites.</p><p>That's based on a formula used by the National Park Service.</p><p>Last year was the first time that figure has topped $1 billion, officials have said.</p><p>The report further notes that on average those communities reaped a direct economic benefit of $47 for each of the 25 million people who visited a state park last year.</p><p>And the bulk of that cash is new money cycling through the community.</p><p>According to the report, which cited a 2006 study, 74 percent of visitors to state parks in Florida traveled more than 50 miles to get there.</p><p>Moreover, 20 jobs are created for each $1 million that gets spent in the community surrounding around a state park, the report states. That jobs total includes full-time as well as seasonal and part-time workers.</p><p>The Silver River State Park, for instance, helped employ about 226 people around the Silver Springs community, based on the $11.3 million spent by the 246,000 people who went through the gate in 2012. Over in Dunnellon, 229 people found work because of the 245,000 visitors to Rainbow Springs, who shelled out $11.4 million.</p><p>That kind of uptick in an economically stalled Silver Springs is what county officials are hoping for once Palace Entertainment, the California-based theme park operator that has run the park since 2002, exits on Sept. 30.</p><p>By then, the DEP expects to have a new cadre of vendors in place for visitors' services.</p><p>At the beginning of March, state parks managers conducted meetings with potential contractors who would take over the music concerts at Twin Oaks Mansion; the Wild Waters water park; sales of food and beverages, merchandise, equipment rentals and the operation of the glass-bottomed boats; and special events such as weddings, receptions, conferences, family reunions, consumer shows and other events.</p><p>The state recently pushed back the date for accepting bids by two weeks, to April 22.</p><p>As it stands, Marion County intends to be in the hunt.</p><p>Commissioner McClain said the county's view is not all that different when the idea of Palace's departure was discussed two years ago.</p><p>That effort foundered when McClain, the board's most vocal advocate for greater local management of Silver Springs, could not convince a majority to join him in supporting the plan.</p><p>Those commissioners who opposed the deal, which might have put the county on the hook for about $6 million in improvements at the facility, held out for letting the state convert it to a park.</p><p>McClain said under the state's traditional way of handling the bids, the county would have to commit a certain amount for capital improvements and pledge part of the future revenues.</p><p>Yet the DEP has toned down the need for the capital investment, McClain noted.</p><p>That's most likely because Palace has agreed to spend $4 million on improvements in buying out the remainder of its lease.</p><p>"We wouldn't create a department to run it and turn it over to parks," McClain explained. "We'd be a buffer between DEP and the private sector guys to facilitate the needs of the private sector."</p><p>That way, if the county becomes the main concessionaire, the County Commission would then be responsible for subcontracting the services — which is permissible according to the DEP's bid packets.</p><p>In that role, the county would also deal with any regulatory issues, McClain said.</p><p>The problem at this juncture, however, is that the county would face a large liability responsibility, he added. Thus, talks with the DEP will continue.</p><p>"No matter what happens, things are going to be productive for Marion County," McClain said.</p><p><i>Contact Bill Thompson at 867-4117 or bill.thompson@starbanner.com.</i></p>